Monday, September 3, 2012

So, what did I do on Labor Day? I worked.The sad thing was that I didn't have to work. I just couldn't think of anything fun that I wanted to do. On the plus side of things, I did manage to finish a charity website the I've been postponing for months. I'm getting closer and closer to getting caught up on everything.

Dot continues to get better. I'm thinking now that she actually did have kennel cough, but since the treatment for kennel cough is exactly the same as she is currently receiving, I don't think it matters what the vet actually called her condition. I think that kennel cough can turn into acute bronchitis, which in rare cases can turn into pneumonia. At her worst, she was probably somewhere between kennel cough and bronchitis. The meds are working though and she is definitely improving.

I'm about to give up on AT&T U-verse. When it works, it's great. The only problem is that it doesn't work properly very often. I've already had tech support out to the house three times. Next week will be service visit number four. The problem is always the same. I lose the broadband signal for the TV, phones and Internet. The router automatically reboots and the signal returns. About five minutes later, the whole process begins again. I've even lost phone service while I was talking to tech support. The technicians have certainly been nice enough. So far, they've replaced the router, added special line filters, and done some repairs to the wiring at the switch. The problem always returns. One particularly honest repairman told me "You know, your distance from the switch puts you right at the limit for this type of connection." I think that is the problem, even if AT&T won't officially admit it. I was too far away for DSL, and I'm probably still too far away for U-verse. Maybe U-verse just is DSL with a new name.

AT&T wasn't the only technology problem today. I'm having some problems with my hard drive. I have an invalid directory item count and I can't get my normally faithful Apple Disk Utility to fix things. Sometime when I wasn't looking, Apple in it's infinite wisdom moved the disk repair utilities to the Cloud. Now, you're supposed to be able to boot your computers from Apple's remote servers and let them fix things. There's only one problem. It doesn't work. I can't even access whatever is in the cloud. I hate the cloud.

Oh, well. Tomorrow is another day. Unfortunately, it's just a regular work day. I shouldn't have squandered my vacation working on websites. There will be plenty of time for that later. I think Dot appreciated me being her nurse this weekend though. I'm a pretty good dog nurse.

2 comments:

John, I agree, while the cloud is an amazing way for big companies to save money, it has its 'bugs' that need to get worked out, especially for the smaller user, who doesn't have dedicated IT people doing their bidding. Your nursing and healing was probably time better spent on this weekend, than what most people did: driving on busy roads, waiting in endless lines, or crowding the pool and the beaches.

About Me

John Sealander received a Bachelor of Architecture and a BA in Art from
The University of Arkansas. His rich and diverse experience includes
working as an architectural designer for Fred Bassetti in Seattle,
producing documentary films for PBS, shooting commercial photography
for True Redd’s “Great Shooting Gallery” in Dallas and teaching writing
courses at SMU’s Academy of Visual Communication. For over 35 years,
John has developed memorable and award winning ads and images for some
of the world’s leading ad agencies and most popular brands. In 1990 he
started Sealander & Company, the Dallas, Texas based production
company and multi-media agency where he continues to develop his ideas
today.